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The Best Credit Cards for Shopping on Amazon

If you do a lot of online shopping, you need one of these credit cards.

Amazon.com is, by far, the most popular online retailer in the United States. The average Amazon Prime member spends $1,300 per year on Amazon.com. Even nonmembers spend about $700 on average. Getting some of that spending back with credit card rewards or cash back could allow you to buy something nice for yourself...likely from Amazon.

Here are the best credit cards to use while shopping on Amazon.

Image source: Amazon.com.

Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card and Amazon Rewards Visa Card

The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card and Amazon Rewards Visa Card are Amazon's co-branded credit cards issued by Chase. The Prime version of the card is exclusively available to Prime members, and it earns 5% back in rewards points for purchases on Amazon.com. Nonmembers will earn 3% back with the Amazon Rewards Visa Card. Cardholders can instantly upgrade their card when they become Prime members with an annual or monthly subscription.

Points can be redeemed directly on Amazon.com with no minimums, or for statement credit in $20 increments. There are also options to redeem points for gift cards or travel rewards like flights, hotels, and rental cars.

Both cards have no annual fees and no foreign transaction fees. They also earn 2% back in rewards points at gas stations, restaurants, and drugstores. Amazon often offers a small sign-up bonus in the form of a store credit, but you can easily find better sign-up bonuses on other cash back credit cards.

Amazon.com Prime Store Card

The Amazon.com Prime Store Card is Amazon's store card issued by Synchrony. Unlike the co-branded cards, the Amazon.com Prime Store Card can only be used for shopping on Amazon.com. It's also exclusive for Prime members.

Shoppers using the Amazon.com Prime Store Card will earn 5% back in rewards points on purchases. Points can be redeemed directly on Amazon.com or as a statement credit.

The Amazon.com Prime Store Card and its sister product for non-Prime members, the Amazon.com Store Card, also offer special 0% APR financing up to 24 months for large purchases over $149. Keep in mind, Synchrony will charge interest dating back to the original purchase if it's not paid off before the end of the promotional period.

Most consumers will be better off with the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card since it's more useful outside of Amazon and earns the same 5% back. But consumers with a low credit score may have better success applying for the store card.

Discover it®-Cashback Match™

The Discover it®-Cashback Match™ earns 5% back per dollar in quarterly rotating categories you activate. The fourth-quarter categories for 2017 and 2018 include Amazon.com. But if you're planning on spending big for the holidays, keep in mind bonus spending is limited to $1,500 per quarter.

Discover also generously doubles all cash back earned for new cardholders in their first year. That includes cash back from the bonus categories.

Discover it®-Cashback Match™ charges no annual fee, but it earns just 1% cash back in nonbonus categories. To learn more, read our full review of the Discover it®-Cashback Match™.

Chase Freedom®

The Chase Freedom® also earns 5% back per dollar in quarterly rotating categories. One of those rotating categories usually includes Amazon.com. Bonus spending is limited to $1,500 per quarter.

If you couple the Chase Freedom® with one of Chase's premium cards, you can earn five times Chase Ultimate Rewards points that can be much more valuable than straight cash back.

The Chase Freedom® has no annual fee and comes with a sign-up bonus of $150, but it earns just 1% cash back in nonbonus categories. To learn more about the Chase Freedom®, read our full review.

AT&T Access Card from Citi

The AT&T Access Card from Citi earns two times Citi ThankYou Points per dollar spent when shopping on Amazon.com (or almost anywhere online for that matter). Citi ThankYou Points can be redeemed for cash back, but cardholders will get a much better return if they redeem the points through Citi's travel portal for $0.01 each.

Combining the AT&T Access Card from Citi with one of Citi's premium ThankYou credit cards can allow for even better redemptions by transferring points to travel rewards partners.

The AT&T Access Card from Citi charges no annual fee, and also earns double points on products and services from AT&T. It earns just regular points everywhere else. It comes with a sign-up bonus of 10,000 ThankYou Points. It might be useful if you do a lot of non-Amazon online shopping and have a good use for ThankYou points. Otherwise, there are better options.

Save at Amazon.com

It's no surprise that Amazon's co-branded and store credit cards favor Prime members and offer some of the best rewards bonuses for shopping on Amazon. Still, there are several other options for everyone who likes to shop on Amazon that can still provide a strong cash back incentive. Be sure to review this list as well as our picks for the best credit cards to help determine which best fit your Amazon shopping needs.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adam Levy owns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool recommends Synchrony Financial.The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.The Motley Fool receives compensation from some advertisers who provide products and services that may be covered by our editorial team. It’s one way we make money. See our advertiser disclosure policy for additional details. But know that our editorial integrity and transparency matters most and our ratings aren’t influenced by compensation. The statements above are The Motley Fool's alone and have not been provided or endorsed by bank advertisers.

Author

Adam has been writing for The Motley Fool since 2012 covering consumer goods and technology companies. He consumes copious cups of coffee, and he loves alliteration. He spends about as much time thinking about Facebook and Twitter's businesses as he does using their products. For some lighthearted stock commentary and occasional St. Louis Cardinals mania ... Follow @admlvy